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A COLLECTION 

OF 

SHORT POEMS 

By 
NORMAN A. LUFBURROW 




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COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 



A COLLECTION 

OF 

SHORT POEMS 

By 
NORMAN A. LUFBURROW 






Copyright, 1913, by 
NORMAN A. LUFBURROW. 



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TO the many friends whose comradeship has 
contributed toward the joys of living, I 
dedicate these Life Lines. 

N. A. L. 



FOREWORD 

AT the request of a number of friends, I have 
published this small collection of short 
poems. My aim throughout has been to 
maintain a certain continuity of thought by a 
careful selection of topics. 

It is my sincere hope that all who read these 
Life Lines may not only discover in them thoughts 
of interest, but in addition may find some slight 
suggestion that will prove a benefit throughout 
the one great course which is our common con- 
cern — Life. 

NORMAN A. LUFBURROW. 



FRIENDSHIP. 



T 



The Comradeship of Friends. 

HRU life's unknown and toilsome course, 

Our happiness depends 
On one great all-inspiring force — 
The comradeship of friends. 



For friendship is a joy by day, 

A gladness through the night; 
And faults or fears are thrust away 

In love's forgiving light. 

At times when doubts would seem most real, 

A new-born faith descends 
On all who offer love, and feel 

The comradeship of friends. 



THE CLOSEST OF EARTHLY FRIENDS. 

Written to my mother during her last long illness. 
MOTHER. 

AMID the din of life's fast flight, 
And thru the silence of the night, 
There comes the cherished thot of you, 
Mother; 
A guide-post on the road to right, 
A brightly shining beacon light, 
To help one live as wished by you, Mother. 

No greater debt could be incurred, 

Than that by which my heart is stirred 

With deepest gratitude to you, Mother; 

You never faltered in your love 

For man below — for God above; 

Such lives as yours are far too few, Mother. 

What traits I harbor that are strong, 
Or good, or great, to you belong; 
Your wants for me were all the best, Mother; 
You filled my life with joy and song, 
And what there is in me of wrong — 
That were a self-inflicted guest, Mother. 

11 



THE CLOSEST OF EARTHLY FRIENDS. 

What you have suffered, none can say, 
Throughout life's fleeting little day, 
For your unselfish heart compelled 
That inward pain, therein, be held; 
But motherhood so crowned with trials, 
And oft repeated self denials, 
Has surely had a bounty share 
Of silent sufferings to bear; 
And happenings that seemed so sad, 
Oft made your loving heart more glad, 
Because it had been "yours" to lay 
Some gladness in another's way; 
And you, who suffered much the while, 
Took pleasure in the self denial. 

And often as I ponder now 

About the early days, and how, 

Unknowingly, I tried you so, Mother; 

I see that you were good and kind, 

In every act, while I was blind 

To pain which you chose not to show, Mother. 

And if I might somehow repay, 
The joys you set upon my way, 
No pleasure would be half so sweet, Mother; 
But all the recompense you ask 
Is that I profit from your task — 
A hope which I will strive to meet, Mother, 

12 



THE CLOSEST OF EARTHLY FRIENDS. 

When momentary things appear, 

To dim the thoughts we hold most dear, 

They but return with greater force, Mother; 

And now that illness lays you low, 

You cannot fail to feel and know 

That I am "constant" with remorse, Mother. 

To read the great infinite plan 
Were not prescribed for finite man, 
And thus our hope is in our trust, Mother; 
But one whose life has been so real, 
Whate'er may come, can always feel 
That final reaping will be just, Mother. 

That you have lived unselfishly 
In deed and act, none fail to see; 
The Christian life which was your aim, 
You lived in purpose and in name, 
And the t'were difficult to know 
Each act that helped some life to glow, 
An influence so good as yours 
Thru generations, thus, endures, 
And often where we least expect 
May have some striking, good effect. 
You ever counted self as naught, 
And honors earned, you never sought; 
That good, so evident in you 
Will but in others live anew. 

13 



THE CLOSEST OF EARTHLY FRIENDS. 

So in the quiet that you spend, 

I hope perchance this thought may lend 

A note of comfort to your heart, Mother; 

What you have counted as your call 

Has been a benefit to all — 

The good you loved so to impart, Mother. 

Each act of love, so motherly, 

Each prayer that you have raised for me, 

I rate a higher gift than gold, Mother; 

Each word or look of warning shown > 

Each tear you shed for me, alone, 

Their worth to me can ne'er be told, Mother. 

And whether near, or from your side, 

I hope some comfort may abide 

With these, my loving thoughts of you, Mother; 

For I shall always feel, with pride 

The joy of having you as guide, 

And will be guided still by you, Mother. 

So mid the din of life's fast flight, 
And thru the silence of the night, 
There comes the cherished thought of you, 

Mother; 
A guide-post on the road to right, 
A brightly shining beacon light, 
Which helps me live as wished by you, Mother. 

14 



COMFORT IN SORROW. 



Set to hymn music October, 1913. 
THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH. 

WHEN the radiant light of the day has gone, 
Comes the black of the night and the hope 
of a dawn; 
And after the peace of contentment's reign, 
Comes the hour of strife and the sting of pain. 

When the light playing summery breeze has 

passed, 
Comes the wail of the wind and the bite of the 

blast; 
And after the fervor of life has fled, 
Comes the sigh of a soul as it joins the dead. 

Yet the gloom which prevails in the wake of joy, 
Is no heavenly judgement to mar or destroy; 
But a test of our faith in the God above, 
And a key to the depth of His wondrous love. 

For the dawn breaks anew with a boundless scope, 
And the sorrow will brighten at last into hope; 
There is always an end to the winter's chill, 
And the soul in the spirit is living still. 

15 



THE VALUE OF A CHEERING DISPOSITION- 



HE WORE A SMILE. 

HE wore a smile; 
And everywhere he chanced to pass, 
While playing his humble r61e in life, 
Men felt his radiant spirit's glow, 
And caught the cheering smile, and so 
Set it adrift in an endless flow. 

He wore a smile; 
And though perchance some inward pain 
Were plainly written on his brow, 
He never failed in any trial 
The cheerful greeting, and the smile 
Lit up his countenance the while. 

He wore a smile- 
One with a vital value too, 
Unlike the cynic's ready grin; 
For always when he happened near, 
Though other hearts were sad or drear, 
The smile would strike a note of cheer. 

He wore a smile; 
What greater good might he have done 
For those whose life-paths crossed his own? 

17 



THE VALUE OF A CHEERING DISPOSITION, 

The magic smiles of men, whole-souled, 
Render the world a hundred fold 
Richer by far than does its gold. 

He wore a smile; 
And though his life works and his name 
Be soon forgotten by the world, 
The influence of his glowing heart, 
Will stand a tribute to impart 
The memory of a priceless art — 

He wore a smile. 



18 



ANOTHER VALUABLE CHARACTERISTIC. 

GRIT. 

CAN you boast of the grit to stick up for 
what's right, 

When the jeers of your comrades demand a 
hard fight; 
Not to waver an inch from your honest intent 
Though it seem that each atom of nerve must be 

spent? 
Can you follow your judgment and stick to a job, 
And be jarred not a bit by the jeers of the mob; 
Never falter because your good spirits are drooped 
When you reap some ill trick to which others 
have stooped? 

Have you quite enough grit to keep up a good 

heart 
When you're forced by a failure to make a new 

start; 
To live on with a smile when your plans have 

gone wrong 
And look into the future, still hopeful and strong? 
Can you keep from allowing yourself to get sore, 
When you've stood all the knocking that's due 

and some more; 
Can you govern your temper when others get hot, 
And display your good sense and control on the 

spot? 

19 



ANOTHER VALUABLE CHARACTERISTIC. 

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Is your grit strong enough to get back of a thing 
And withstand every jolt that its pushing may 

bring; 
To keep busy and work with an unflinching nerve 
Where the ultimate need is for backbone and 

verve? 
There is work in this world that you're put here 

to do, 
And endurance is needed to carry it through — 
For its grit that's essential in everyday life, 
If you want to make good and win out in the 

strife. 



20 



THE LONELINESS OF GENIUS. 



THE BIGGER MAN. 

ONE day while on a mountain stroll 
I came upon a rocky knoll, 
Whereon a pine-tree, tall and bold, 
By some odd chance had kept its hold, 
And here and there a favored shoot 
Had found good earth and taken root; 
On every side lay rich and green 
An awe-inspiring woodland scene. 
Unconsiously 
It came to me, 
That this unseemly rocky space 
Looked more a blemish than a grace, 
'Mid all the splendor of the place. 

But later from a distant plain 
I chanced to look that way again, 
And lo! the knoll, conspicuous — 
Scorned just before as valueless, 
Was out of all that grand expanse 
The thing which longest held my glance. 
And from its crest the lonesome pine 
Towered as monarch of his line. 

I stood amazed 

For as I gazed 

21 



THE LONELINESS OF GENIUS. 

The knoll, which I had thought a freak, 

Stood out the only thing unique, 

In all that green unchanging streak. 

Quick as a flash there struck me then, 
A likeness in the world of men 
To this dull pine-crowned knoll which stood 
As if alone, yet mid the wood, 
And which from some remoter spot 
Looked more the master than a blot; 
For here and there a man is found 
Living his quiet daily round, 

With nobler bent, 

And different 
From those about, who fail to see 
His deeper, bigger, self set free, 
In individuality. 

Man among men, the same as they 
He loves, and toils, and lives his day, 
Seeming to be one of many there — 
But stand aside and view with care 
The human mass; — and lo! one strong, 
As if alone yet mid the throng, 
He stands unique, a bigger soul, 
A central figure, as the knoll; 
And like the pine with towering sway, 

22 



THE LONELINESS OF GENIUS. 

— 

Apears the monarch of the way; 

For though no doubt 

The crowds about 
May have an aspect beautiful, 
Their sameness is discernable, 
And he alone looks masterful. 

So now whene'er I chance to pass 
That pine-enthroned rocky mass, 
I spare to scorn it as before, 
But glory in it all the more, 
As, reverent, I view the sight, 
And ponder o'er its sturdy might 
As it had looked from off the plain — 
A giant mid the woody chain. 

Then vividly, 

I seem to see 
The towering pine so bold and long; 
The man of men, unflinching, strong; 
As if alone, yet mid the throng. 



23 



OUR COMMON FAILING. 



UNSATISFIED. 

UNSATISFED 
I moaned my lot, 
But looking up there met my eye 
The sight of one deformed, near by, 
One blind, who knew no starlit sky; 
No beauty scene — doomed so to die. 
Ashamed, I groaned 

"Why curse my lot? 
'Tis naught but bliss, compared with this. 

Longing to "live" 

I sighed for wealth, 
But seeing hundreds here and there, 
Existing on pauper's share, 
Bent low from poverty and care, 

Saddened, I cried 

"Why envy wealth? 
A greater gift, to work, and lift." 

Tired of toil 

I chose more play, 
But of a sudden time I found 
That if one's heart and hand are bound, 



OUR COMMON FAILING. 



A "shop" may seem a pleasure ground. 
With joy, I mused 
"Toil is but play 
If rightly wrought; — Oh golden thought!" 

Heavy at heart 

I sought for love, 
But glancing up, I saw apace, 
A willing hand, a trusting face; 
Friends who had shown a friendship's grace. 

Gladdened, I thought 
"Is not this love? 
Who should despair, with friends so fair?" 

Unsatisfied 

I moaned my lot; 
Like other men, a base ingrate, 
Thankless, I ever cursed my fate, 
Until some vision, clear and great, 
Showed me the "fortune" of my state, 

Then shamed, I groaned 
"How blest my lot, 
And free from ban! How blind is man!" 



26 



OUR COMMON NEED OF FORGIVENESS. 



Set to Hymn Music December, 1913. 



FORGIVE US, LORD! 

THY people Lord, we struggle still, 
Where age by age has had its day; 
Still with a weak and human will, 
We strive beneath Thy mighty sway; 
For our shortcomings as we live, 
Forgive us, Lord! We pray, forgive! 

In Thine unfailing watchful care 
With good intent we place our trust, 
Yet in the test, though faith be there, 
The motive crumbles as to dust; 
Thou who hast caused us then to live, 
Hear and forgive! Hear and forgive! 

As to temptation's call we heed, 
Deal with compassion mild and kind, 
Grant the great ever-pressing need, 
A saner and a stronger mind; 
Bear with us as we strive to live, 
Hear and forgive! Hear and forgive! 

27 



DEC 22 1913 



OUR COMMON NEED OF FORGIVENESS. 

For haughty pride and thankless part, 
For hasty act and rising ire, 
For word unkind and hardened heart, 
For fleshly lust and vain desire; 
For every failing as we live, 
Forgive us, Lord! We pray, forgive! 

As from our weakened earthly state, 
Humbly we plead for greater strength, 
Save us before it is too late, 
And take us to Thyself at length; 
Yet while we still are spared to live, 
Forgive us, Lord! We pray, forgive! 



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